Cops: Westbound LIE in Melville reopens

All lanes of the westbound Long Island Expressway in Melville were closed Thursday night for about an hour because of an accident before reopening, police said.

The closure, reported at 6:08 p.m., was at Exit 49N and the reason specified on the state Department of Transportation informny.com website was "police activity."

Suffolk County police said a car burst into flames after being rear-ended by a van. The car's driver was able to get out of the vehicle as the impact pushed the van 20-30 feet from the car, police said. No one was injured and no one was charged in the crash, police said.

Earlier, a separate accident jammed traffic on the westbound LIE during the evening commute.

It was reported at 5:33 p.m., involved multiple vehicles and closed two lanes between exits 63 and 62 in Holtsville, according to the DOT.